Connecticut Clean Energy Fund Gets Great Response for Round Two of “PROJECT 100" RFP
Request for Proposals yields 315 Megawatts of potential clean energy projects

December 30, Rocky Hill – The Connecticut Clean Energy Fund (CCEF) announced that it had received twenty-eight proposals for development of grid connected clean energy projects in response to a "Project 100" Request for Proposals (RFP). The proposed projects were received under the second round of the competitive RFP. In total, the projects represent just under 315 megawatts of installed clean energy capacity and include clean energy technologies from solar, biomass, fuel cell, and wind sources.

Project 100 is a CCEF initiative announced in November 2004 in response to innovative Connecticut legislation promoting the development and deployment of Class I renewable energy resources.

"This response to round 2 of Project 100 demonstrates the important role clean energy is playing in helping Connecticut address its long-term energy needs," said Lise Dondy, president of the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund. "We are extremely pleased to have with received over three times the potential installed capacity we were seeking."

An experienced panel of industry experts will evaluate the proposals for technical and financial viability during the next two months. In March, CCEF will recommend to Connecticut’s two public utilities (CL&P and United Illuminating) the projects that it believes should be considered for long-term power purchase agreements.

Anyone seeking additional information on the RFP should visit the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund's website at www.ctcleanenergy.com.

Source: CT Clean Energy Fund

Former Perkin Elmer Headquarters Goes Green

December 26 – Greenwich-based National RE/Sources LLC is converting the former Perkin Elmer facility on Main Avenue in Norwalk into a green office park. The i.park Norwalk office complex will have a 300,000-square-foot main building that will be Class A office space and built to the U. S. Green Building Council’s LEED (leadership in energy and environmental design) certification standards and will include a green rooftop. A second building in i.park also will be converted into a LEED-certified building and will be occupied by LA Fitness.

Lynne Ward, vice president of leasing at National RE/Sources, which is spending $50 million on the conversion commented on the green roof top, "It's new in the country. There are none in Fairfield County," she said, estimating that more than an acre of the roof will be green. "California was far ahead on this."

Solar panels will be installed on another section of the roof.

This is the first LEED project for National RE/Sources, which specializes in converting former manufacturing complexes into large office complexes. Other National RE/Sources projects include the former Lockheed plant in Lake Success, N.Y., as well as former industrial sites in Yonkers and Tarrytown, N.Y.; Wiscassett, Maine; and Edgewater, N.J.

Source: Stamford Advocate

New Report Offers Guidance on Carbon Offsets

December 21, New Canaan – Clean Energy-Cool Planet has produced a first-of-its-kind report evaluating companies providing retail carbon offsets to consumers. The Consumers’ Guide to Retail Carbon Offset Providers is designed to help those trying to achieve carbon neutrality choose appropriate offset options.

With dozens of providers of carbon offsets in the retail market, and more entering it all the time, it is quite difficult for potential purchasers to understand what they are buying and what they should look for. To try to address this problem, Clean Energy-Cool Planet commissioned Trexler Climate + Energy Services, Inc. of Portland, OR to conduct an independent survey and evaluation of retail offset providers. Funding for this report was provided by three corporate sponsors, Stonyfield Farm, Interface, Inc., and Clif Bar.

"We hope that this report will provide a useful service to potential consumers of retail offsets," states Clean Air-Cool Planet Executive Director Adam Markham in an article in Renewable Energy Access. "By providing a clear description of the key issues underpinning carbon offset quality and using a transparent methodology to assess retail providers, our aim is to help educate consumers on the questions to ask when considering a retail offset purchase."

To read the full article by Adam Markham, click here.
To read the report, click here.

Source: Renewable Energy Access

The Stag Goes Green

December 11, Hartford – The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE: HIG), one of the nation’s largest financial services and insurance companies, announced last week that the company plans to build a 450,000-square-foot campus in Windsor, Conn., for its Hartford Life operations. The new facility will house approximately 2,000 Hartford Life employees incorporating sustainable design features.

“We are excited to find a place to grow in Connecticut for our expanding life operations,” said Ramani Ayer, chairman and chief executive officer of The Hartford. “Over the last 15 years, The Hartford’s Connecticut employee base has increased by more than 50 percent and we are proud of our commitment to this great state we have called home since 1810. We are equally pleased with the prospects of opening a new facility that embraces sustainable initiatives. By making thoughtful choices in our building designs, we can benefit our community today and help generations that follow.”

The Hartford has a long history of supporting the environment and sustainable design strategies. The company operates one of 15 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ENERGY STAR® buildings in the state at its 100 Executive Boulevard, Southington, location, and has been an ENERGY STAR® partner for more than 10 years. In addition, the company is a partner in the EPA’s Climate Leaders program, pledging to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and also participates in ISO New England’s demand response program to help ensure the constant availability of electricity in the Northeast. For more information, click here.

Source: Business Wire through forbes.com

Three CT Firms Receive Green Power Leadership Awards

December. 5, San Francisco, CA – Smart Power, the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund and a geothermal project that involved UTC Power and UTC Research Center joined 22 other companies and organizations across the country and were honored by The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the Center for Resource Solutions (CRS) as a group of organizations committed to advancing the development of the nation's green power market. The annual Green Power Leadership Awards, recognizing leading national green power purchasers and suppliers, were presented at an awards event, Monday evening, December 4, in conjunction with the Eleventh National Renewable Energy Marketing Conference which took place in San Francisco.

EPA and DOE presented awards for green power purchasing to 22 organizations that have demonstrated leadership by voluntarily purchasing green power or creating innovative supply options for consumers. CRS presented six awards to organizations and individuals that have shown outstanding leadership in building and shaping the market for renewable energy. The other award winners included Starbucks, Whole Foods Market, Staples, IBM, Johnson & Johnson and Aspen Skiing Company.

Source: PR Newswire

Landfill To be Transformed Into Environmental Education Park

December 3 – An undeveloped 64-acre parcel adjacent to the former UConn landfill that once held chemicals discarded from research labs as well as debris and trash is being transformed into a peaceful learning laboratory and nature sanctuary.

Richard Miller, director of environmental policy, says that by fall 2007 the first phase in transforming the former landfill site – which has been successfully covered and closed – into a passive recreation and preservation area will be complete with trails, educational signage, boardwalks over restored wetlands, and wildlife observation areas.

Plans include public access with visitor parking, he says; and the site of the former dump will become a permit-only parking lot, with more than 600 spaces for students, faculty, and staff.

Richard Miller, director of environmental policy, says that by fall 2007 the first phase in transforming the former landfill site – which has been successfully covered and closed – into a passive recreation and preservation area will be complete with trails, educational signage, boardwalks over restored wetlands, and wildlife observation areas.

Plans include public access with visitor parking, he says; and the site of the former dump will become a permit-only parking lot, with more than 600 spaces for students, faculty, and staff.

Known as the Hillside Environmental Education Park, the 64-acre swath of undeveloped land bounded by Hunting Lodge and North Hillside roads is mostly wooded; connects to Shelter Falls Park, a town-owned nature preserve; and includes a large wetlands system, with a great blue heron rookery. Miller says some funding for the project has been made available as part of the landfill remediation project budget.

Other resources, including the University's Green Campus Fund, which is administered by the UConn Foundation, are being explored to cover the costs of phases II and III of the project.

Several teams of students, led by Kristin Schwab, an associate professor of landscape architecture, developed designs for the nature park that included the trails and boardwalks, as well as observation decks and signs describing the diverse ecosystems.

Schwab's students created five landscape designs, and submitted them to the Land Use & Sustainable Development subcommittee of UConn's Environmental Policy Advisory Committee.

Aspects of each were incorporated by the committee into a single design, she says.

Ideally, although probably a decade away, Schwab envisions an indoor environmental center, located nearby on the largely undeveloped North Campus.

She says signage and an “interpretive” program could provide information on three issues: the value of open space; waste, and the ways society has learned to deal with it; and water resources and storm water management innovations.

Informational signs are also among plans being made for the triangle of land between Storrs Road and the rear of the UConn Dairy Bar.

A team of faculty and staff is developing a colorful display there that will show gardeners alternatives to invasive plants used by many Connecticut residents for landscaping to the detriment of the environment and native species.

To read more, click here.

Source: UCONN